Higher Levels Of Pollutants Found In Fish Caught Near A Coal-fired Power Plant

November 2007— Emissions from coal-fired
power plants may be an important source of water pollution and fish
contamination, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate
School of Public Health.

A new study found higher-than-Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)-recommended levels of mercury and elevated levels of selenium in
channel catfish caught in a rural area upstream of Pittsburgh and
downwind from a coal-fired power plant. Both mercury and selenium are
well-known contaminants of coal burning for power generation.

To complete the study, researchers recruited local anglers to catch
channel catfish from the three rivers area of Pittsburgh and from
Kittanning, Pa., an area 40 miles upstream of Pittsburgh. The three
rivers area includes the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers. Based
on testing of 63 fish, they found that Kittanning and three rivers area
fish had 19 and 3.1 times more mercury, respectively, than store-bought
fish. They also found significantly higher levels of mercury and
selenium in the Kittanning-caught fish than in the fish caught in the
three rivers area.

Results showed that the risk of developing neurological disorders
from ingesting catfish with such high levels of mercury as those caught
near Kittanning were eight times higher than the EPA's acceptable risk
for children under six years of age; seven times higher for children
between seven and 16 years of age; and six times higher for women of
child-bearing age. For the general population, this risk was five times
higher than the EPA's acceptable risk. The results also indicated to
the researchers that fish can be used as bio-sensors to locate and find
sources of area pollution.

"Given these results, we should be concerned about fish caught in
areas that are situated close to coal-fired power plants, even if
upstream from more heavily polluted areas," said Conrad D. Volz,
Dr.P.H., M.P.H., principal investigator, department of environmental
and occupational health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of
Public Health. "These types of power plants may be significant sources
of mercury and selenium in fish contamination. We believe it is
important for fish consumption advisories to take into account
industries such as power plants that may be important sources of water
pollution, and warn people in these areas about the dangers of
consuming local fish."

Ingestion of fish with high levels of mercury has been linked to neurological and developmental problems and birth defects.

This study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Washington, D.C. November 7, 2007.